Gold-Backed BRICS UNIT Gains Momentum as US Dollar’s Grip on Global Finance Loosens

The world's financial tectonic plates are shifting. A new challenger, backed by the oldest form of money, is rising just as the long-dominant reserve currency shows signs of strain.

The Golden Challenger Emerges

Forget digital abstractions—this play is about physical weight. The BRICS coalition is pushing forward with a tangible UNIT, one literally anchored to gold reserves. It's a direct, physical hedge against the perceived volatility of fiat systems, cutting out the middleman of trust in central bank policies.

Bypassing the Old Guard

The move isn't happening in a vacuum. It capitalizes on a growing global sentiment to diversify away from traditional dollar dependency. The strategy is straightforward: create a trade and settlement instrument that bypasses Western financial networks entirely. It leverages the bloc's collective economic heft and commodity wealth to build a parallel lane on the monetary highway.

This isn't just geopolitical posturing; it's a structural play for autonomy. The UNIT aims to insulate member economies from external monetary shocks and sanctions overreach—a lesson learned the hard way in recent years. It turns their natural resource wealth from a trade commodity into the foundation of a financial system.

A Fragmented Future Takes Shape

The implications ripple far beyond the BRICS nations. Every step forward for this gold-backed alternative chips away at the dollar's monopoly on cross-border trade and reserve holdings. It signals a future where multiple, competing currency blocs coexist—a world of financial multipolarity that would make any traditional forex trader's head spin.

The old guard of finance might scoff, calling it a cumbersome solution in a digital age. But sometimes, the best way to challenge a digital empire is with a very real, very heavy ingot. After all, in a world where central banks treat balance sheets like a magic trick, there's a certain cynical comfort in an asset you can actually drop on your foot.

BRICS UNIT Advances As Gold-Backed Currency Alternative To US Dollar

The International Research Institute for Advanced Systems, also known as IRIAS, drives the BRICS UNIT advances and issued 100 UNITs as an initial pilot, pegging each one to 1 gram of gold. IRIAS announced the gold-backed BRICS unit on November 10, 2025, on the Cardano blockchain network and shared some details about its structure.

The formula for valuing the UNIT is 40% gold (by weight) and 60% based on a basket of BRICS currencies.

Strategic Implementation

The BRICS unit currency is not a replacement of national currencies but is used as a neutral settlement instrument by the members of the bloc which include Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and also Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates. BRICS payment system allows member countries to trade gold, platinum, and even rare earth out of Western-controlled platforms at the moment.

In April 2023, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said:

Why can’t an institution like the BRICS bank have a currency to finance trade relations between Brazil and China, between Brazil and all the other BRICS countries? Who decided that the dollar was the (trade) currency after the end of gold parity?

As of writing, Russia tops BRICS gold reserves with 2,336 tonnes, China has 2,298 tonnes and India has 880 tonnes. In September 2025, Brazil has contributed 16 metric tonnes and the IMF records indicate that the reserves have grown by 129.7 tonnes to 145.1 tonnes, which intensifies the supporting potential of the gold-backed BRICS unit.

Timeline and Coordination

The BRICS UNIT advances despite some coordination challenges. Russian President Vladimir Putin clarified the timeline during his December 2025 India visit, stating:

There is no rush, and by avoiding haste, you can avoid many grave mistakes.

The BRICS unit currency operates as a settlement instrument that was designed specifically for wholesale, cross-border trade in what’s being called a multipolar financial world. The BRICS UNIT advances as more countries express interest in alternatives to the existing dollar-dominated system, and the gold-backed BRICS unit provides a stable option anchored in physical assets.